PALO DURO CANYON STATE PARK

THIS CANYON IS 27 MILES SOUTH OF AMARILLO, TEXAS. THE COST IS FIVE DOLLARS PER PERSON.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park opened on July 4, 1934 and contains 29,182 acres of the scenic, northern most portion of the Palo Duro Canyon. The Civilian Conservation Corp of the 1930's constructed most of the buildings and roads still in use by park staff and visitors.

The Canyon is 120 miles long, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is often claimed that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. The largest, the Grand Canyon, is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 ft. deep.

Palo Duro Canyon was formed by water erosion from the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The water deepens the canyon by moving sediment downstream. Wind and water erosion gradually widen the canyon.

Guess some of the red sand in the sand bars in the Red River above Grand Ecore could have come from this canyon.   I keep trying to visit this one.  Someday.

Bill

They put on a great outdoor drama, naturally it's title is "Texas".  Polly has seen it with a youth group from church but I haven't.  We had ordered tickets for the drama and for the feed they put on before it but had to cancel while on a road trip when Polly came down with a migraine.  We called the local police department and told them to tell someone to go out there and claim our food and play tickets, hope they did.

As you enter the canyon area there is a camp/motel area to the right, behind it is a bluff on which you can stand and see for miles and miles.  It's quite a site to look from there to see distant storms, but, as Bill Hyams will tell you, watch out for that lightening.  :)

John, thanks for posting this highlights of your trip.